Ultranationalist youths persist with coordinated campaign to block Gaza aid trucks
Trucks stopped Sunday night in Jerusalem, at Latrun interchange and spots in West Bank, in effort to stop passage of humanitarian aid as long as hostages are held in Strip
Jeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter
Bands of extremist youths halted trucks in several places around the country Sunday night in what appeared to be the continuation of a coordinated, often-violent campaign to halt the transfer of humanitarian aid to Gaza for as long as Israeli hostages are still held captive by Hamas in Gaza.
Trucks — not all of which were actually carrying Gaza-bound aid, according to the police — were stopped by vigilantes on Route 1 in northern Jerusalem, at the Latrun interchange and in several spots in the West Bank. In some instances, the activists demanded documentation for the cargo being carried by the trucks to find out whether it was humanitarian aid bound for Gaza.
Far-right activists took to Twitter and WhatsApp to call attention to sites where trucks were passing through and to coordinate efforts to block them.
Ultranationalist activists and settlers have attacked aid convoys from Jordan, passing through the West Bank and destined for Gaza since the beginning of April, while National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has authority over the police, has faced accusations that he does not want the force to prioritize protecting the convoys and has ordered them to treat those attacking the trucks with a light hand.
In videos published by the Haaretz daily, radical religious Zionist so-called hilltop youths can be seen stopping several trucks on Route 1 east of Jerusalem, examining the documents presented to them and even inspecting the cargo holds of the trucks.
In the videos from the Jerusalem area, police patrol cars can be seen arriving at the site where trucks are being halted. The video shows the police officers largely ignoring the youths.
חסימה עכשיו!
של משאיות האספקה לרוצחים בעזה
מחוץ לישוב אביתר.כל מי שבאזור – מוזמן להצטרף!
⛔ לא מסייעים לנאצים⛔
> נלחמים על החיים – https://t.co/wMLt2f4Y5L pic.twitter.com/HlBEQr04HX— ???????????? ???????????????????? ???????? ???????????????? (@KYehudim45047) May 19, 2024
The police said in response to the incident that police officers did subsequently remove the youths on Route 1 near Jerusalem and at the Latrun interchange in order to allow traffic to flow freely, but did not explain why the officers in the video did not immediately intervene.
The police stated that two of the youths were “apprehended and transferred” to the police station in Jerusalem, and that three others involved in the Latrun incident were given traffic fines.
עצרו הכל וצפו בשלושת הסרטונים שצירפתי לפוסט.
בסרטונים אפשר לראות קבוצה של פורעי חוק יהודים שהחליטו אתמול שהם עוצרים משאיות ובודקים תעודות זהות ורשיונות כדי ״לוודא״ שלא עוברות משאיות סיוע לעזה. זה לא קרה באפגניסטן או בסוריה, גם לא בסומליה או ונצואלה, זה קרה בישראל, בירושלים -… pic.twitter.com/UME5OQJjFJ
— Moshe Radman Abutbul משה רדמן אבוטבול (@RadmanMoshe) May 20, 2024
Police said no humanitarian aid trucks had passed through the area of the Latrun incident, adding: “No reports or complaints of assault were received by the police, and the traffic on the road continued as normal.”
In addition, the Kan public broadcaster reported that a truck was stopped by extremists outside the illegal West Bank outpost of Evyatar and its contents were stolen, while trucks were also stopped by the Kfar Adumim junction in the West Bank, east of Jerusalem.
פעילי ימין חסמו משאית פלסטינית בכניסה למאחז אביתר שבשומרון, ופירקו את שקיות המזון שעליה – בטענה שמדובר במשאית סיוע שמיועדת לעזה. בצה"ל אומרים: "ככל הידוע לנו, לא מדובר במשאית סיוע – משום שלא תואמה העברה בשעה הזאת ובכביש הזה"@carmeldangor pic.twitter.com/6xT5ZpMdPJ
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) May 19, 2024
At least seven aid trucks from Jordan were stopped and ransacked last week by right-wing activists, prompting a police investigation and outcry from the United States.
During an interview with Army Radio on Sunday, Ben Gvir praised the vigilantes, saying it was “very good that they’re protesting” but he noted, “I don’t think they should burn trucks or beat people up,” adding, “I think that the ones who need to stop the aid is the security cabinet.”
Asked about reports in the Hebrew press that he had reprimanded senior police officers for providing protection to the aid convoys, Ben Gvir said: “It is not acceptable to me… that they’re bringing out all these forces only to help these aid trucks.”
